


Surely Heaven Waits For You

by A_Zap



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean's dead just FYI, Death, Destiel - Freeform, Gen, M/M, Or at least I thought it could be, Potential end of Supernatural, Some of the elements still ring true, written in 2015, wrote this years ago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-06 00:40:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11024946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Zap/pseuds/A_Zap
Summary: After a surprisingly long life, Dean Winchester finally dies for last time. As he moves onto his Heaven where he'll wait for Sam, he thinks about a certain angel that he'll never get to see again. After all, angels don't get an afterlife. However, it turns out that Heaven has a few surprises for Dean. An optimistic look at what waits for the Winchesters. Destiel.I.e. How I once thought Supernatural might end or at least how Dean would end up.





	Surely Heaven Waits For You

**Author's Note:**

> Written and published on FF.net on June 20, 2015.

When Dean opened his eyes, he was in the Impala. He was also young, probably sometime in his thirties. However, he also knew, without a doubt, that he was dead.

He sat up and looked out the window. Sam was outside, just a kid, setting up some fireworks. The sky was vastly different to anything on Earth. The Moon was huge and the stars swirled in the sky.

He blinked in surprise. Even after everything, Dean hadn’t expected that this was where he would end up.

Dean knew that this was the final time. He had managed to live all of the way into his seventies, which had probably been a shock to all of the supernatural as much as it had been to him.

If Dean didn’t know better, he almost would have said that an angel had been watching over him. Unfortunately, Castiel hadn’t been around for a long time.

The hunter pushed that thought away and got out of the car, walking over to Sam. He accepted the hug the kid came to give him as sparks flew.

He thought about Sam while he looked around at the memories that he was walking through. It was the greatest moments from his childhood, mostly with Sam but quite a few with Bobby. There were a few with his Mom, too.

Sam was still alive, but they had both made a vow that they wouldn’t bring each other back again. After all, they had gotten past the point of making deals with demons, angels, or Death, so there wasn’t any reason to believe that the other was suffering. Besides, Sam wasn’t alone.

The two of them had fulfilled what Sam had believed since they had found the Bunker: they had united the Men of Letters and hunters. They had created a network of hunters, following the groundwork done by first Bobby and then Garth. Though Sam had taken over the research part and Dean the physical hunting part, they had made sure that everyone, whether they worked as Men and Women of Letters or as a hunter, knew how to do both. Bobby had taught them that a hunter had to use his or her brains and know how to research and their Grandpa Henry had shown them that researchers really needed to have some hunting skills.

And it had worked. Fewer hunters were dying all of the time and it had been beautiful thing to see everyone at least keeping track of each other in order to help out when needed.

Dean knew for sure that Sam wasn’t alone, despite that nagging big brother instinct that urged him to screw this and find a way back downstairs. Even without trainees staying at the Bunker, Claire and Alex stayed there more often than not nowadays.

Dean sighed as he relived the moment when the Impala had been passed along to him. Claire had become an excellent hunter. Cas would have been so mad if he had known, as the angel had just wanted her to get her life as normal as was possible after what he had done to her family.

Of course, not even Dean would have been able to predict her reaction to what had happened to him. She had been looking into becoming a hunter after her mom died, but after that, she had demanded that the Winchesters teach her how to hunt, though Dean had managed to draw a promise that she would call on them for help the moment she needed it. Now, she helped wrangle those who would get into the life, and to the brothers’ horror, she made sure that every single one of them read the _Supernatural_ books.

Dean thought that it was just one of the ways that she got back at them for the crap that she had gone through the first few times they had met.

Dean shook his head. After all, he was dead and in Heaven, so he should sit back and relax. Soon, he would get off of the Axis Mundi and get to his permanent Heaven. He shouldn’t be thinking about the bad times, but still they crept up to him, as he got further into his good memories.

Then, he was standing in a barn covered in anti-demon sigils, waiting with Bobby. The doors opened and revealed Castiel as Dean had first met him.

Dean’s heart ached a bit at the thought of the angel, but still took in the sight. It was the first time that Dean had seen him in years, making him regret that he had burned the one picture of him that wasn’t on an ID badge after Jo and Ellen had died. Seeing the fake Cas of his memories just reminded the hunter that he would never get to see him in person.

After all, he might have gotten into Heaven, but angels had no afterlife.

Dean still remembered the day that Castiel had truly died. A foe greater than anything they had faced before. It was something that no mortal, not even him or Sam, could hope to defeat. The angel had known this and had made sure that the Winchesters would never have to fight it.

Dean continued to think about it, even as he and the memory Cas ran from the bouncers at the brothel.

Dean hadn’t known that that was going to happen. The three of them had come to the place that they were sure was going to be their final resting place. They had been sure that they were going to take down that thing even if it killed them in the process. He and Sam had been making the final preparations, and Cas had stood watch, making sure that they hadn’t been seen yet.

Dean had just shut the Impala’s trunk when he had turned to find Cas staring at him in that way that he usually did. Before he could say anything, the angel had leaned in, grabbed the lapels of Dean’s shirt, and brought the two of them together in a passionate kiss. The hunter had heard Sam make a noise of surprise, but had ignored him.

It had been the best kiss of his life. Dean could still feel Cas’s soft lips on his; the rough stubble that the angel almost always had scraping against his cheek; and the warmth of Castiel’s hand as it had reached up to caress his cheek. Though it probably hadn’t taken as long as Dean thought it had, eventually the angel had pulled away. In that moment when they had gazed into each other’s eyes, much like they always did but so much more, Dean had known everything Castiel had never been able to say aloud. By the small, sad smile that had tugged at the angel’s lips, all that Dean had wanted to say came across loud and clear too.

Then, Castiel had said, “Goodbye, Dean.”

Dean had known what Cas was going to do before he did it as soon as he said those words. The angel never said goodbye. He always left either without a word or with a stilted explanation of why he had to go. He never gave any farewells or wishes to see the two Winchesters later.

Before Dean could stop him, Cas had brushed his hand across Dean’s forehead and the world had faded to black.

He had awoken to Sam shaking him. His brother had also just gotten up, and dread had filled the bottom of Dean’s stomach. The two of them had quickly made their way over, but it was already over.

Cas had won and saved the world.

The cost had been the angel himself though.

Dean tried to shove back the pain of that moment when they had found them. He smiled as he watched Cas watch cartoons for the first time instead. After all, who else would find Looney Toons as an allegory of the relationship between God and Man?

Still, the memory persisted. Again, in his mind’s eye, he saw the ash forming broken wings upon the ground. Cas had never fully recovered from the damage Metatron had done to his Grace, but that had never stopped him from fighting. The stubborn old thing had never backed down. Dean could only remember one incident when he had, and the fact that the hunter had beaten the angel within an inch of his life still brought him guilt to this very day.

In any case, Cas not being at full power hadn’t stopped his sacrifice from being enough. His face had been so serene where he lay, as if he was finally free from the guilt and worries that had plagued him in life. It had almost pissed Dean off how peaceful he looked, because it shouldn’t have taken death to finally let the angel relax.

And the hunter had known that he wouldn’t be coming back this time. The burnt wings were proof enough.

Dean still remembered how he had sunk down on his knees and gathered the angel towards him. He remembered the tears that had fallen from his face, and Sam turning away to give him a moment of privacy. Most of all, he remembered thinking that he had always known that Castiel would be the first of them to leave permanently.

Who had been the first to die to stop the Apocalypse? Who had been the first one to be destroyed by Lucifer once he had obtained his true vessel? Who had been the first one to be killed by the Leviathan? Even if Sam had come close, who had been the first to die after the angels had fallen?

Each time, it had been Cas who had died first.

Dean somehow knew that the angel had wanted it to be that way.

That didn’t stop the pain though. Especially as he knew that while he had a chance of seeing everyone else he had lost in Heaven, he would never get to see Cas as angels went nowhere when they died. They just stopped existing. It’s only through God’s will that they could come back. And the douche bag had not given any signs of giving a crap in ages.

The pain did recede a bit as Dean watched Charlie and Castiel interacting for the first time.

He ran a hand through his hair and frowned. He was dead, for God’s sake. He shouldn’t be thinking about this. Heaven was supposed to make him happy. After all, that’s why he and Sam would end up sharing Heaven when he eventually died.

Dean couldn’t admit that he wouldn’t be happy without Cas.

The good memories, his top hits, rolled on. He grimaced a bit as he once again experienced kissing Cas. Despite the aftermath, that act had been a happy memory. Then it was all of the things he had gone through since then. Cas had taken out the last big bad that they had come across, so the worst thing they had faced since then was Crowley acting up or younger hunters becoming starry-eyed fangirls due to Claire giving them those books. It had been peaceful with just enough excitement. It had been good.

It had been the apple pie life Dean had never thought he would get, even with the hunting.

It had been Castiel’s final wish for him to get that, and he had made the most of it. Still, he had never forgotten him.

Finally, Dean found himself in front of the Bunker’s door, and he knew that this was where his final destination was. The road ended here. This was his Heaven. It made sense, as it was the place he had considered home the longest. Distantly, he wondered that if he had died earlier if it could have been Bobby’s house or even their old one in Lawrence.

He shrugged, throwing the thought away. It didn’t really matter now.

Dean looked back at the road he had come down. He kind of hoped that he could see those memories again when he wanted, as it was the only way he would get to see Cas. He turned away from it though and faced the Bunker’s door. He smiled.

It was good to be home.

Walking down to it, he pulled out the key, which was somehow in his pocket, and made to unlock and open the door. He jerked back when it began opening. Then he could only stare in shock.

Castiel stood in the doorway.

At the sight of Dean, the angel’s eyes lit up in delight and a small smile pulled up the edges of his lips.

“Hello, Dean.” He greeted the hunter.

Dean didn’t say anything. He couldn’t say anything. He could only stand there, slack-jawed, drinking in the sight of the angel.

Castiel wasn’t like how Dean had last seen him. He was back in his original trenchcoat and backwards tie. His hair was messy and that five o’clock shadow traced his jaw. His small smile was the same as always, genuine and filled with a slight innocence. His blue eyes shone with happiness at seeing Dean, showing the angel’s true emotions as they usually did.

It was everything that Dean wanted.

Except this had to be a trick, because Dean was dead and Cas was long dead. This could not be the real Cas, but a fake one to simply try to make him happy. It wouldn’t though, because some facsimile of Castiel could never compare to the real one.

Dean felt a flash of anger, even as something hot prickled his eyes. After everything he had done, for Earth and Heaven, someone up here dared to mock him by making some sort of clone-Cas? Fire raced through his veins at the thought of tracking down whoever had come up with this forgery.

His thoughts snapped back to the present as the fake-Cas frowned at him and tilted his head at him, his eyes squinting as he studied him. “Dean?” He took a step forward with his hand outstretched to touch him.

Dean took a step back. “Don’t touch me!” He snarled. The fake-Cas flinched, that hurt expression that Dean had hated taking over his features. And now Dean felt inexplicably guilty. Over a phony. “You’re dead!”

Clone-Cas looked confused. “Yes, I am.” He admitted, not looking away from Dean.

Damn! This was so much harder with the familiar blue puppy dog eyes staring at him. Curse Sam for teaching the angel that! Not that this was the real one.

“Yeah! So don’t touch me!” The hunter shouted, taking another step away.

Fake-Cas finally withdrew his hand. He looked down, avoiding Dean’s eyes. “I know it has been a long time.” He said softly. “But I did not realize you would not wish to see me. I’ll – “ He looked back towards something in the Bunker. “I’ll go if you don’t want me here.”

“Go?” Dean scoffed, feeling defensive. “You’re just some fake! How can you go anywhere?” He growled. “Though I can guarantee that whoever thought of putting a fake-you in my Heaven is going to get it.”

Fake-Cas stared at him, eyes wide as realization dawned. “You think I’m not real.”

“Of course not!” Dean defended. “Angels don’t get an afterlife.”

“But I never was much of an angel, was I?” This Castiel stepped forward again, staring deep into Dean’s eyes like he always had. Dean couldn’t help staying away. “Naomi said I was always broken, that I was the spanner in the works. Josiah once said that when he looked into my eyes, he didn’t see an angel.” He wrinkled his nose. “Even Rowena once commented on how I was not very angel-like.”

Dean continued to stare, because he could not be this lucky. Even if everything this guy had said was true, that would not explain why Castiel was here.

_“I think… too much heart was always Castiel’s problem.”_ Samandriel’s words from years ago echoed in his mind. He had been right in that Cas always had too much heart, always cared too much. He was a lot more human than any of his compatriots.

Could that have been why Cas was standing before him now? He was looking at him, so hopeful, but Dean couldn’t be sure.

“Dean.” Cas stepped right into his personal space, and before Dean could react, they were hugging.

And in that moment, he knew. This was without a doubt Castiel. This was the warmth that he had always felt from the angel, and the weight of his arms around him was familiar, as they had shared several hugs after Cas’s stint as a human. Besides, he was fairly sure that a fake wouldn’t have been able to give those examples earlier. After all, he hadn’t known that Cas had been told those things before.

Cas drew back and stared deeply into his eyes. He smiled.

“Cas.” Dean’s voice seemed to be holding back a sob as he pulled the angel back into a tighter hug. “You son of a bitch.”

“That’s not entirely accurate as I was created, not born, and only God was involved.” Castiel’s voice was muffled from Dean’s shoulder, but he still brought his arms up to encircle the hunter.

Dean chuckled at the stereotypical Cas answer. He held him for a long moment, and then he finally drew back as a question came to mind. “Wait. But how?”

Cas took a step back and his brow furrowed. “I’m not sure. It could be like I said that I was not much of an angel. Or perhaps my Father simply decided to grant me an afterlife with you. Though I have no idea why, considering all that I did.”

“Well, I’m glad that you’re here.” Dean admitted. Then, he awkwardly cleared his throat as he remembered what had happened before the angel had died.

They had kissed. It had taken a long time, but Dean had eventually accepted that. He hadn’t been with anyone since then, something that had shocked Sam, but he had simply found that he couldn’t. Now, Cas, the real Cas, was before him, and he had no idea how to react to that.

They had never defined nor even talked about the thing that they had between them. It had always been there, the “profound bond” as Cas had once put it. Still, they hadn’t bothered to confront each other about it. They had only ever shared that one kiss, and then Cas had been gone. And now, Dean didn’t know what to do.

“I’m glad.” Cas said, and Dean realized he was responding to his earlier comment. The angel reached forward and took Dean’s hand. “Come on.” He pulled him inside the Bunker and shut the door behind them.

However, he didn’t stop there as he continued to tug Dean along further in until he came to a door the hunter didn’t remember ever being in his home that had sigils carved into it. Above the doorknob was a little slot showing a label that said, “Bobby’s House.”

“Uh, what are you doing?” Dean asked, looking both at the door and at their joined hands. He was a bit nervous about the hand holding, because even an angel as socially awkward as Cas knew that it was not a normal thing for guys to do.

“Everyone’s waiting.” Castiel simply said, as with his free hand, he turned a smaller knob above the slot that started flipping through different labels.

The hunter watched them flying by and took note of several of them. Dean noticed one stating “Charlie’s Pad,” another for “The Novak’s,” and another for “The Eternal Tuesday,” before Cas settled on one labeled, “The Roadhouse.” Apparently satisfied with his choice, the angel then reached down to the doorknob and opened the door, which showed a portal of light.

“Who’s everyone?” Dean managed to get out before he was pulled through, but then he stopped short.

“Welcome, Dean!” A chorus of voices came from all around the hunter. He blinked in surprise.

He was standing in the Roadhouse, and that wasn’t surprising since he had come here the last time he had gone to Heaven. However, the bar was filled with all of the people that Dean had cared about and lost.

Behind the bar stood Ellen and a man who Dean assumed was her husband. She gave him a smile as she cleaned a glass. Jo sat at the bar and she looked over her shoulder to give the hunter a wink. Beside her was Jess, who laughed at something that Jo had said. Ash was also there, tapping away at his laptop, but he gave the two in the doorway a distracted wave.

In a booth sat Bobby and his wife Karen, and she was talking with Jody and Missouri. The old hunter gave him a crinkly smile and raised his glass towards him. As Dean watched, Rufus slid into place next to Missouri, and she whacked him in the head for not giving a proper greeting. He ignored her and instead turned to talk to Henriksen, who was in the booth next to him and sitting next to Pamela. She gave a flirtatious wink, but was elbowed by Henriksen to quit it. The FBI agent gave Dean a grudging nod of respect before turning back to his conversation.

Andy sat at a table with Adam and his mom, and the two were obviously comparing notes about how much it sucked getting involved with the Winchesters. At a different table, Charlie was talking animatedly with Kevin and his own mom. From what Dean could hear, they were geeking out over Lord of the Rings.

Also, in a corner sat Jimmy and Amelia. It was weird to see someone who looked exactly like Cas, but was nothing like him. The former vessel looked up, and to Dean’s surprise, actually sent him a smile. Dean was somewhat glad that the guy didn’t hold a grudge over the fact that the hunter was glad that Jimmy had said, “Yes.”

There were others dotted throughout the bar, familiar faces. Hunters, some civilians that he had saved, some that he hadn’t, and other people he had known throughout his relatively long life. However, he couldn’t understand how they were here.

“How?” Dean asked aloud, even as he realized that he was standing in his favorite bar, surrounded by his favorite people besides Cas and Sam, and he was holding the angel’s hand still.

“Between Ash and I, we began changing Heaven.” Cas explained as he led him up to the bar. “We’ve created more permanent paths between Heavens. The angels haven’t been able to do anything about it, and I’ve persuaded them to leave it. Each of us ends up going back to our own at the end of the day, so they don’t really care what we do. Besides, it’s not like we’ve caused any trouble since we broke Bobby out.”

“Wait, what?” Dean asked, but the angel easily sidestepped the question by not saying anything.

“Hey, Dean.” Ellen said as they finally got to the bar. “Long time, no see.” Her lips quirked up a bit higher in her smile. “Though, I’ll have to admit that I’m grateful for that.”

“Hey, Ellen.” Before he could say more, Bobby had come up to the bar and was giving him a hug. “Hey, Bobby.”

“Well,” the old hunter said as he pulled back, “at least up here I don’t have to go through the normal checks, huh?”

“Yeah,” Dean grinned. “By the way, what’s this I hear about having to break you out?”

Bobby didn’t get a chance to reply as someone ran into him. “What’s up, bitches?” Charlie threw a salute at Cas. “It’s been a bit since you came here, Cas.”

“I knew Dean would be coming soon. I didn’t want to miss him.” Castiel said, smiling at the redheaded nerd.

Jo laughed. “Of course, you didn’t. You’ve been waiting for long enough.” She hugged Dean, too.

“Wow, it’s like everyone I want is here.” Dean chuckled. It was true basically. After all, only Sam was really missing, along with Claire and the other kids. Then again, he would be glad if that day was a long way off.

“Yes, everyone is.” Cas said quietly with a sense of anticipation. He was looking off into the crowded bar, as it parted to let someone through.

Dean followed his gaze and his breath caught in his throat.

With a gentle smile on her lips, Mary Winchester walked up to Dean. He could only stare at her, because as much as he wanted to see her again, he had never thought that he would.

“Hey, baby.” Mary walked up and gathered Dean into her arms. “I’m so proud of you.” She whispered.

Dean stood stiff for a moment before he melted into her embrace. Those prickles were back in his eyes, but this time, they were from happiness.

“Oh, Dean,” Mary pulled back a bit, and Dean could sense Castiel stepping closer, the hand not holding his coming to rest on his back. She smiled a bit. “Don’t you cry no more.”

And surrounded by the people he loved and cared about, Dean knew that he really was in Heaven.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: So I've always felt that Castiel would be the first of the three core members of Team Free Will to die. The show, unfortunately, seems to the support that feeling, though I like to think that I respect Cas a lot more than they seem to. I wrote this two years ago, so, yeah, everything's sort of vague as I had no clue who they might face that would kill Cas. Some things about it turned out to be surprisingly accurate. I also like to think that Cas will get something for all of the crap he's been through and having an afterlife would be nice despite being an angel.
> 
> I also felt that Heaven has always seemed a bit too cut off, so I found a way for Dean to see everyone again. I thought that this would finally be where Dean got to see Mary again (who'd be aware of what happened), but then she was brought back to life and God only knows what's happened to her now or when we'll see her again.
> 
> The title and what Mary says is, of course, inspired from "Carry On, My Wayward Son" by Kansas, because that is pretty much the song for the Winchesters and it seems like a pretty good predictor for their ultimate fate.


End file.
